Sites We Like

Bravo

Last night's Southern Charm began as the cast preps for their day, and I wonder how Bravo is able to get away with so much Jenna King side boob.

Cameran Eubanks is nervous about embarking on her new career as a realtor. She's wonders where her income will come from now that she's left her stable job as a make-up artist at a local department store. Cameran is meeting with a high end broker who is concerned about how fragile and soft the reality star appears. Luckily, Cameran's mother is an etiquette coach who has taught her daughter how to charm the pants off of anyone. She is complimenting the broker left and right and ends up scoring a 3 month trial run with the firm. I'd snark on the fact she's harboring an extremely wealthy fiance who won't appear on the show, but she's really so damn adorable and genuine. Cameran is by far the breakout star of this train wreck…well, she and Whitney Sudler-Smith's mom.

Holy crap! Charleston is totally going to RavenHell in a hand basket courtesy of Bravo. So, since last week, pretty much all anyone in this town is talking about is how horrible (and somewhat addictive) Southern Charm is. Well, played Andy Cohen. You are a true evil genius. My Facebook newsfeed was filled with friends who were posting pictures of themselves with these yahoos, and I couldn't tell if they are star struck or legitimate friends with the cast of this show. Is one of those scenarios better than the other?

Thomas Ravenel calls his father to talk about a chance meeting with Governor Nikki Haley at a Yankee fundraiser and implore him to start procreating to ensure the family's future. T-Rav reminds us that his dirty political consultant Will Folks wants him to pick the pedigreed Kathryn Dennis for a bride and child bearer (spoiler alert…she is about to have his child in "real time"), but at thirty years his junior (if you go by his birth certificate and not his Bravo bio), T-Rav is concerned that she may be too immature for him. Well, she did graduate from high school in 2009, but some snooping reveals that their burgeoning relationship is totally Facebook official. The pair even thanks "Sic Willie" for his matchmaking skills on T-Rav's page. Gag. That's a relief. T-Rav is traveling to Edisto to give a polo lesson to Shep's ex-girlfriend Danni, and he's great at skeeving me out by molesting her with his eyes and talking about how comfortable she looks in the saddle.

I've never had more of a conflicting feeling when recapping a new show. On one hand, I couldn't wait for the train wreck that is Bravo's Southern Charm. On the other hand, it's a train wreck that's filmed in my backyard of Charleston, South Carolina. Okay, so maybe it's not technically my backyard because I am certainly not living South of Broad (anymore…I did rent a carriage house for two years in law school that was in the exclusive area blocks from the Battery, but it didn't have central air or any form of heat which made it less hoity-toity!), but this is a small town. Everywhere I went yesterday I heard people talking about the show with equal parts disgust and intrigue…which is exactly how I approached it! I do have to applaud Bravo for finally making dudes look like total d-bags instead of focusing on women who eat, sleep, and breathe drama.

And so it begins. In the opening montage, I see my office and my church. It's surreal, but I have a feeling it's something I'm going to have to get used to as the season progresses. I apologize in advance for being all "fan girl" over the city…not the participants in this debacle! Thomas Ravenel, the state's former treasurer, is just ridiculous. I'm going to have the hardest time not being horribly snarky when it comes to T-Rav. I once saw him making out at an oyster bar, and it was sloppy. Then he went to jail. As he's being introduced, co-star Whitney Sudler-Smith (who is also listed as an executive producer on the show…really, Andy Cohen?) does a spot-on interpretation of the name-dropping Southerner. T-Rav opens by reinventing himself on a radio show. Good times.

Ready for more Rich People by Bravo? Southern Charm follows six singles – Craig Conover, Cameran Eubanks, Thomas Ravenel, Jenna King, Shepard "Shep" Rose, and Whitney Sudler-Smith – as they live their posh lives in Charleston, South Carolina. Bravo describes:

The cast, some descendants of Vice Presidents and four-term Senators, and others from new money, is comprised of Southern bachelors who suffer from "Peter Pan Syndrome" by refusing to settle down and the women in their lives who challenge them to grow up. Viewers will see them launch political careers, build businesses, break hearts, and chase true love – all while struggling to preserve their family names. Because in Charleston, you're only as good as your last garden party and one social screw-up can taint generations to come.

Well, it seems that it's not just the Fresco Italian restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey that is disappointing members of the community for allowing Bravo to use it to film scenes for Real Housewives of New Jersey. Local fans of the show were also disappointed…not in the eatery, but in the women dining inside.

Last week, the restaurant posted (and then promptly deleted after negative feedback) some pictures of Dina Manzo and Teresa Giudice eating at Fresco surrounded by lights and cameras. Fans who were able to catch the Facebook status before it was taken down rushed to the restaurant in hopes of seeing their favorite RHONJ ladies. You see where I'm going with this, right?

Well, we all know that Real Housewives of New Jersey can be slightly, um, polarizing, right? In general, I think fans have the strongest feelings for this group of women, whether they are loyal to the core fans or staunch haters. The ladies of the Garden State can certainly bring out the emotion in their viewers!

That was made abundantly clear recently when a local restaurant allowed Bravo to film scenes for the show. The Fresco Montclair was hoping that posting photos of filming on its Facebook page would bring with it some publicity…and boy did it!

Real Housewives of Atlanta'sKandi Burruss has always been one of the more mild-mannered, level-headed, successful in her own right outside of Bravo members of the franchise. Sure, she likes to stir the pot every now and then, but she usually remains impartial and even tempered.

I was hoping we'd get to watch Kandi enjoy her engagement to fiancee Todd Tucker on this season. It would be a nice change of pace from Kenya Moore's fan foolishness and her overexposed text triangle with Phaedra Parks' husband Apollo Nida. Alas, even Kandi's story line is tainted with negativity. I'd say she should leave the drama to her mama, but unfortunately, that's exactly what's happening!

Sometimes NeNe Leakes says the most ridiculous things, but her outlandish statements–a la "Close your legs to married men, WIG!"–are always spot on. The Real Housewives of Atlanta star is nothing if not honest…well, at least when it comes to hilariously calling out her co-stars.